This is about protesting the School of the Americas (renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation), legislative work to encourage Congress to close the school and to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate the school's curriculum and its alleged ties to human rights violations in Latin America, and other related issues.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

SOA 16

Julienne Oldfield sent me this picture of the SOA 16, all together as a group in a circle.We are still together in spirit, although we are separated by miles now and will be in separate prison facilities to serve our sentences.Some of us have been notified as to where we are to serve our sentences and when we are expected at our new "homes." My notice came first, sooner than I anticipated. I will serve my six-month sentence at the federal prison camp in Danbury, Connecticut. I have to deliver myself there on March 21, the first day of spring. I am looking to come back home somewhere around the 19th of September.Even though I've been in prison in the past, the prospect of spending six months in federal prison is still a bit daunting and even scary. But, even so, I am fortunate. I am going to prison for something that I truly believe in. I am going to prison because I chose to carry a message that said yes to life and human rights and no to torture and assassination onto the grounds of Fort Benning, home of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly known as the School of the Americas). I chose to leave a cross on the grounds of Fort Benning, bearing the name of an old man who had been killed by people trained by my government. I left that cross in a spirit of hope, not despair, however. The hope is that no more old men, young women, babies, children, or any other people will be killed or tortured by troops trained by my government. The hope is also that my government will establish a truth and reconciliation commission so that some redress can be afforded to the victims of U.S.-sponsored violence against civilians.

About Me

Alice is a freelance writer/photographer/artist/master gardener. She is currently participating in a 52 week photography challenge, organized by Dogwood Photography. You can follow alice on twitter; her handle is @alicesbears